The audit published by DiNapoli shows that the MTA has left its signals rotten

The MTA has failed to inspect, maintain and test its decaying subway signaling system – one of the leading causes of train delays – on schedule, perpetuating the problems of the beleaguered system, according to the MTA. a new audit.

The audit, released Wednesday by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, revealed between January 1, 2015 and October 31, 2017 that signaling devices sampled on four sections of the subway lanes no longer exist. were not properly maintained.

Of the 51,603 annual inspections with complete information from January 1 to May 16, 2016, the audit found that 39,194, or 76% of them, had been completed late.

In addition, 2,345 devices were not inspected by a supervisor during this period, according to the report.

Auditors found that workers did not always perform maintenance, inspection or testing of their signaling equipment on time.

For example, at the Howard Beach in Queens and Pelham Bay sites in the Bronx, 35% of signal maintenance required from January 1, 2015 to May 16, 2017 was not completed in a timely manner.

"When asked why the MIT [maintenance, inspection and testing] The maintenance supervisors at Pelham and Howard Beach told us that they lacked resources and that strict signaling rules dictated the work that could be done on a daily basis, "says the audit.

Recommendations made by the Controller's Office to the MTA include a review and allocation of "resources to ensure that all signaling devices are maintained and tested in accordance with applicable procedures and standards".

DiNapoli said in a statement: "Facing the shortage of staff, MTA has postponed the inspection of one of the most critical components of the subway system. Transit recognizes that faulty switches and signals are one of the main causes of train delays and urgent repairs, but it has also neglected preventive checks that could spare users the aggravation and inconvenience. "

"The MTA needs to do better. Riders vote with their feet and leave the subway for another means of transport, "said the controller.

MTA spokesman Shams Tarek responded to the audit in a statement: "This audit reports on earlier processes that have changed for a long time and predate major improvements in signal maintenance, and ignore also an important route for millions of transit users: The Subway Action Plan. "

The $ 836-million plan, announced in July 2017 and not fully capitalized until this summer, "has significantly increased signal maintenance and repair, stabilizing and starting to reverse the reliability trend, and [New York City Transit Authority President Andy Byford’s] The Fast Forward plan, if funded, will result in the complete redesign of the entire signaling system, "said Tarek.

As part of the action plan for the metro, 123 positions were added to the signals division, including 91 for maintenance and repairs and the rest for emergency response teams. In addition, according to the MTA, more than 11,000 signaling locations were inspected on 660 miles of runway.